The field of invention is floor cleaning equipment, and more particularly, floor cleaning equipment for use in industrial and commercial environments.
Industrial and commercial floors are cleaned on a regular basis for aesthetic and sanitary purposes. There are many types of industrial and commercial floors ranging from hard surfaces, such as concrete, terrazzo, wood, and the like, which can be found in factories, schools, hospitals, and the like, to softer surfaces, such as carpeted floors found in restaurants and offices. Different types of floor cleaning equipment, such as scrubbers, sweepers, and extractors, have been developed to properly clean and maintain these different floor surfaces.
A typical scrubber, such as Factory Cat scrubbers available from R.P.S. Corporation, Racine, Wis. and TOMCAT scrubbers available from Mid-Central Corporation, Racine, Wis., is a walk-behind or drivable, self-propelled, wet process machine which applies a liquid cleaning solution from an on-board cleaning solution tank onto the floor through nozzles fixed to a forward portion of the scrubber. Rotating brushes forming part of the scrubber rearward of the nozzles agitate the solution to loosen dirt and grime adhering to the floor. The dirt and grime become suspended in the solution which is collected by a vacuum squeegee fixed to a rearward portion of the scrubber and deposited into an onboard recovery tank.
Scrubbers are very effective for cleaning hard surfaces. Unfortunately, debris on the floor can clog the vacuum squeegee, and thus, the floor should be swept prior to using the scrubber. The traversing speed of the walk behind scrubber is limited by the walking speed of the operator walking behind the scrubber. Moreover, scrubbers are ineffective on soft surfaces, such as carpeting, because the dirty solution can be absorbed by the soft surface and the squeegee cannot effectively collect the absorbed dirty solution.
A sweeper can be used to sweep a floor prior to using a scrubber. A typical sweeper, such as available from R.P.S. Corporation and Mid-Central Corporation, is a self propelled, walk-behind or drivable dry process machine which picks debris off a hard or soft floor surface without the use of liquids. The typical sweeper has rotating brushes which sweep debris into a hopper or “catch bin.” Unfortunately, the sweeper does not effectively remove dirt and grime adhering to the floor surface.
Soft floor surfaces, such as carpets, can be cleaned using an extractor. A typical extractor is a walk-behind machine which sprays a cleaning solution from an onboard tank onto the floor surface. A brush can be provided which agitates the cleaning solution and loosens dirt and grime adhering to the floor. The dirt and grime become suspended in the solution which is drawn into an onboard recovery tank through one or more vacuum shoes rearward of the brushes. Although an extractor can be used on a hard surface, it is not as effective as a scrubber, because the squeegee contributes to loosening the dirt and grime from the floor surface and dries the hard floor more effectively. Moreover, the extractor traversing speed is limited to the walking speed of the operator.